The Bakrie family has said that it will begin the distribution of monthly Rp 15 million (US$1,250) payments to victims of the Lapindo mudflow disaster next week after lengthy discussions with the victims and Social Minister Bachtiar Chamsyah.

Nirwan Dermawan Bakrie told tempointeraktif.com on Friday that his family would transfer the allotment to each family each month via Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI).

“We ask for the victims to start opening new accounts at the bank as we will transfer the money next week. We'll also accelerate the construction of houses for the victims so that they can move immediately,” he said, adding that his family would monitor the distribution of the money closely.